Wednesday, November 5, 2008

My garden has turned into a basil factory - who knew it re-seeded itself?! The stuff is multiplying like crazy. I used up a good share of it with this tasty recipe from my mom. I definitely wasn’t going to use it all - so I froze it by spooning the pesto into a cupcake tray. Once frozen, I put the pesto cubes into a freezer safe bag for use later.

Thank mom!

What you need:3 - 5 Cups fresh basil leaves2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped1/4 Cup pine nuts2/3 Cup olive oilsalt and ground pepper3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese (do not add if you will be freezing - it can be added when it is prepared)

Wash basil and drop into boiling water, drain immediately, rinse with cold water and pat completely dry. (Cooking the basil briefly helps pesto keep its green color. You can skip this step, but your pesto will darken a bit). Combine with garlic, nuts in food processor. Pour oil in while processing. Process until smooth. If pesto is too thick, add oil to thin. Freeze small portions or add cheese and use immediately.

Toss with pasta, spread on sandwich, stir into vegetable soup, mix with mayo for a vegetable dip or stir into mashed potatoes.

What to do:Cream the shortening and sugar (I used my stand mixer). Add the remaining ingredients. Mix. Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan. Bake in a 350* oven for about 50 minutes. I’d recommend setting the timer for 40 and checking the bread every five minutes. When it’s done (stick in a knife, when it comes out clean it’s done) remove from oven. Let cool in the pan. Remove from pan and slice. enjoy!

Short funny story about the famous apple cake: Last fall I had just refilled the plug-in air freshener in our living room with a new “autumn” scent of apples and cinnamon. Corey arrived home a shot while later and said something like “Oh, you made my mom’s apple cake, my favorite” ... I must have had the strangest look in my face “um, no, I didn’t cook at all ...” Well as it turns out, this apple cake smells just like the apple and cinnamon air freshener, but tastes a lot better than air freshener!

What to do: in a bowl, combine 1 cup flour and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream; pat into a greased 13x9x2” pan. Combine the sugar and remaining flour; sprinkle over curst. Arrange the raspberries over crust. For topping, combine sugar and flour. Stir in eggs, cream and vanilla; pour over berries. Bake at 375* for 40-45 mins or until lightly browned. Serve warm or chilled. Store in refrigerator. Makes 10-12 servings.

I really like salsa. All kinds of salsa. But, I especially love traditional spicy tomato salsa.

Making salsa in North Dakota over the winter is quite a challenge because finding good, fresh tomatoes is difficult when it’s -30 outside. Shocking, I know!

So, I was thrilled when I discovered (begged) this recipe ... made my Pat Sanden (the mom of Corey’s friend Josh). It uses canned tomatoes! and it tasted great! So, I shall call this North Dakota Salsa.

Here’s what you’ll need:1 large can (approx. 16-28 oz depending on how much you want to make) whole tomatoes1/2 - 3/4 bunch of cilantro1/2 yellow oniontwo jalapeños3 T Mrs. Wages salsa canning seasoning (in the canning area of the store)sate and pepper to taste

What to do:Combine ingredients in food processor and chop until desired consistency is reached. If you don’t have a food processor a blender will work but it gets frothy, so refrigerate before serving. Serve with chips.

This salsa is responsible for motivating me to buy a food processor ... if it does the same to you ... I recommend looking at www.amazon.com - they have some great deals!

This is the Mrs. Wages salsa seasoning. I get mine at WalMart ... save yourself time and look for it in the canning isle (near housewares).

What to do:Melt butter and Velveeta in saucepan, add crab and onion flakes and worcheshire sauce. Cut crusts off bread and roll bread thin with a rolling pin. Spread crab mix on bread and roll. Spread melted butter on rolls and sprinkle with sesame seeds (yes, this is a low-fat dish ... not). Cut rolls into thirds. Freeze for use later or broil for about 10 minutes (watch closely). Remove from oven when the cheese melts out and they start to turn as golden color. Serve with tooth picks. eat. say "yum."

Thanks to Grandma Schumacher for this great recipe!

We thought these would be good if the bread was substituted for tortillas - so that would be another option.

Here’ what you do with the stuff:Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer (my Kitchen Aid stand mixer was a champ for this) until well blended. Add egg and beat just until blended. In separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Roll cookies and place on un-greased cookie sheet. Using a fork, make criss-cross patterns on cookies, pressing slightly. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes. Cook for two minutes before removing from baking sheet. Enjoy :)

This is what you do:Brown sausage and caramelize onion.Spread the french loaf on a greased cookie sheet or 14x12 pan (it should stretch to cover the sheet).Across the middle, layer the sausage, some cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions, about 1/4 of the sauce and almost all of the cheese. Then roll edges of dough and seal all sides. Cut three slits on top. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cheese.Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.Slice and serve with marinera sauce and parmesan cheese.

When I think of pancakes, I think of these. I have no clue what makes them “Swedish” but they are darn good. I think they would be most closely compared to crepes, but that makes them sound complicated, so we’ll call them ‘easy crepes’.

You can eat them with whatever you want: jelly, syrup, cheese, whatever ...but we’ve always enjoyed them rolled and then we dip them in a brown sugar/sour cream mix. Weird. Yes, I know. But it makes a caramelly delicious sauce. And I will only eat them this way.

What you’ll need:3 eggs1 1/2 cups milk1 1/2 cups flour1/3 cup oil1/2 teaspoon salt2 Tablespoons sugarBeat eggs, oil and milk. Add all other ingredients and beat well. At this point, the batter can be stored in the refrigerator, for cooking later (a day or two later). My mom always used her trusty griddle to cook the pancakes, so I do the same. I honestly have no idea if these can be cooked any other way. Heat griddle and oil surface. Pour batter to griddle and smooth out (the bottom of a spoon works well). Flip when the bottom start to turn light brown (see left). Remove when both sides start to brown, but are still very soft.eat as you choose (see toppings above). smile. yum.